Cherry and Strawberry
by Forbidden Moons
Summary: A collection of one-shots inspired by the fascinatingly wicked character of Lex Luthor in BvS. Some chapters contain fluff while others explore the darker side of our most beloved cherry addict. At risk of sounding like a narcissist, I must add that I write primarily for my own personal amusement, but I do hope that you can enjoy my story. :) And disclaimer: I only own my OCs.


**In Which They Argue About Sweets**

* * *

Esther fancied herself a sound sleeper, a tight sleeper, and an all-round needy sleeper, so she was _not_ amused when a text message woke her up at- an exasperated glance at the clock- 4 a.m., telling her to bring a bag of cherry-flavoured Jolly Ranchers to work because apparently, her boss had run out of supply. Not amusing in the slightest. Well, she would admit to being just a tad bit amused, but for heaven's sake she wanted to drive a pen into Lex Luthor's throat. Falling back into the bed with a groan of despair, Esther found herself giggling despite the nightmarish situation;  
 _oh Lex, you would be the death of me_. Twisting and turning with closed eyes for about ten minutes, Esther accepted the sad truth that she would not be able to fall asleep again, not with a certain ginger flashing behind her eyelids insistently...more like bouncing, knowing her boss. Hmm, she might as well get up now, it wasn't every day that she could experience what an early riser felt like, after all. Yawning behind her hand, Esther thought sleepily that if she fell asleep at work today, she could simply guilt-trip her boss and manipulate him into letting her home early; oh the wonders a psychology degree could do. Lex Luthor was in it for a reckoning.

Reckoning or not, she did need to find the sweets Lex had asked so nicely for, so she headed straight for the kitchen once she exited the bathroom, switching the lights on as she did so. Absentmindedly, she wondered what Lex's house looked like; what would the colours be, the designs, the layout? No, she definitely did not enjoy being an early-riser. Why in the name of all things sweet did Lex have to be awake at 4 a.m.? Rubbing her temples, Esther gave herself a painful squeeze on the arm to snap out of the half-awake fantasy; whatever the case, it wasn't in her place to fantasise about her boss's home that definitely wouldn't include her milky-yellow wallpaper, white wooden furniture, and strawberry patterns.

'Now Jolly Ranchers, Jolly Ranchers...' she muttered as she opened the cupboards, 'Where are you?'

It wasn't that she didn't have a sweet tooth, because she would be lying if she said she didn't have a knack for anything strawberry or vanilla, but Lex was asking for cherry! What kind of a twisted mind would enjoy cherry of all flavour? Now, the horrifying thing that Esther had just realised was that she never bought any Jolly Ranchers that she could remember, so no matter how hard she searched she wouldn't be able to find a single box in her stock.

'Gods have mercy!' Her face was that of a soldier marching towards death as she went through the final box. That was it. It was over. Her career was done for. Wait, what was that?

With a mad cry of joy Esther took the precious bag out of the box, giving it a loving kiss before scowling and washing her lips with cold water. Oh, she owed Evie big time, she knew, but right now she was too ecstatic to care. Grinning from ear to ear, Esther checked the tags just to be sure; excellent. Jolly Ranchers, cherry-flavoured, expiration date still months away. Yay~ As she opened the fridge to get some oranges- nothing like fresh orange juice to lighten up the day- Esther thought that she needed to hug her best friend for at least ten minutes today. Who knew what would happen had Evie not sent her the sweets on Valentine's Day? Esther had scoffed at them then, knowing it was a joke to send her least favourite flavour, but right now she couldn't have been more thankful.

'Hmm, cupcake darling~' Esther cooed at the oven. 'I've got you~'

It wasn't often that she had time for a hot breakfast, so who was she to let this chance go to waste? She could comfortably enjoy a half-hour breakfast before heading off to LexCorp. Smiling happily at the sweet contents on her plate, Esther settled into her favourite chair and dug in, all the while thinking up a smart response for when she delivered Lex the sweets. Ah, Monday mornings.

By the time she finished breakfast, her mood was considerably brighter than when she woke up, and she realised with a half-pout that maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't be able to stab Lex in the vocal cords without feeling guilty, after all. Ugh. At precisely 7:10, which was five minutes earlier than usual, the blonde Head of Human Resource of LexCorp stepped out of her flat carrying Jolly Ranchers in her Chloé handbag, dressed in a white red-dotted shirt and a light brown skirt, her face devoid of make-up save for modest pink lips. It wasn't that Esther preferred light colours- on the contrary- but it helped to appear as light-hearted and approachable to her co-workers, especially when the main job of her position was to keep the employees energetic and at ease. Yes, life was hard catering to the needs of children, but Esther couldn't complain about her job seeing as a) Lex paid well, b) Lex gave her far more interesting (and probably illegal) work in private with an extra pay, and c) Lex was a fun boss to have.

...Fine, so she enjoyed her work to an unnatural degree mainly because of Lex Luthor, so what?

Means nothing, that's what, Esther thought with a dismissive mental flip of her hands as she exited the metro. Morning, LexCorp.

'Morning, Esther!' Ah, her saviour.

Whipping around, Esther engulfed Evie in a tight hug, surprising a squeal out of her usually calmer friend. 'Oh, it's so good to see you darling~'

A raised eyebrow. 'What's the matter with you today?' the brunette questioned as they walked through the entrance hall together, 'And I mean today, because we both know you've always had, uh, problems.'

'Oh what a fatal blow to a psychologist!' Esther mock-gasped, a few drops of fake tears escaping her olive-green eyes, 'You wound me deeply, Evie darling. But if you must know-'

'Es~tee, just the one I was hoping to see!' Ah oh, she could almost feel the eagerness dripping off that voice. Her boss was such a child.

'Good morning to you too, Lex,' Esther smiled at the strawberry-blond meaningfully, 'Though, some people's mornings are better than others.'

'Woo, now I feel terrible!' Lex laughed lightly as usual, not the faintest sense of guilt she could detect, no surprise there. 'And how're you this fine morning, Evie?'

'Oh, I'm great, thank you, Mr Luthor,' Evie recovered quickly, 'I mean Lex.'

'Lovely, just lovely,' Lex grinned like the Cheshire cat, turning back to Esther, 'You wouldn't mind me stealing your friend away for a bit, hmm, Evie?'

'Not at all, Lex,' her friend answered calmly, her smile slipping the tiniest bit, 'Have a good morning.'

Noticing her change in mood, Esther mouthed to her Talk to you later and was relieved to see her nod and wave.

He rubbed his hands. 'Goody, so now, down to business.' Esther bit back a laugh at the stark contrast between Lex's suddenly serious tone and the excited gleam in his stormy blue eyes. 'Let's just uh step into my office right here.'

'Whatever you say, Mr Luthor.' She mocked in an equally serious tone as she followed her boss over to the side. 'I have here the essential supplies you asked for,' Esther watched with a satisfied smirk as Lex's eyes visibly lit up, his tongue swirling on his pink lips when she reached into her bag and showed him the cherry Jolly Ranchers. 'However... There is one more procedure that's necessary, sir.'

'Hmm! Is there?' Lex cocked his head to the side, his eyes still not leaving the bag of Jolly Ranchers, 'Lemme guess, Ms Hare. Hmm... Thank you for delivering me the supplies?'

Esther coughed. 'Why, you're welcome, Mr Luthor, but no.' her face was the epitome of innocence. 'It's a very simple procedure, sir, and I'd appreciate it if you go through it quickly; wouldn't want to be late for work and send the department into a frenzy.'

She could see annoyance entering Lex's bright eyes, but not directed towards her, no, one thing Lex Luthor absolutely hated was failing in a challenge of any kind and Esther knew it well; and she also knew that his ADHD-induced impulsivity was going to make him explode if she pushed too far. 'Alright, Lex, sorry for the teasing, here's my wish,' Esther smiled sincerely at him and was relieved to see the manic gleam in his eye vanish, 'Admit that strawberry is a much better flavour than cherry.'

Lex doubled up in laughter. 'That's- hahaha, that's it?'

'Yes,' Esther crossed her arms, 'Problem?'

'Pfft, no problem, no problem at all,' Lex snickered then furrowed his eyebrows, 'No, yes, actually, no, uh yes, it's a huge problem. How can you force me to lie, Estee? I thought I gave you this job to fish out the truth, not encouraging people to lie!'

Esther raised an eyebrow. 'Well in that case, Lex...' She started to close her bag.

'Wait, wait wait wait!' He put a hand on her shoulder. 'Let's see some sense here, Estee. What's wrong with cherry flavour?' Lex continued on with a dreamy wink before she could open her mouth, 'It's sweet, it's intense, it's beautiful, it's the eighth wonder in the world, and it's cherry. What's your problem here? Did a big bad cherry scare you when you were a wee little girl?'

Esther wasn't sure whether she wanted to slap that smirk off his face or to kiss his, at the moment, suddenly very appealing lips. So she did the next best thing. Neither. 'Nah uh, don't even go there, Lex, I can psychoanalyse you from the inside out if I want to.' She warned him half-jokingly.

'But you don't want to.' It was a statement; he was confident to an alarming degree. 'I'm too interesting a puzzle, Estee, aren't I? Far too fascinating to resist. But what can poor Estee do if Lex is no longer a puzzle, hmm?' His stormy eyes now held a knowing gleam that made Esther's heart flutter. 'Poor Estee would lose control over her little racing heart.'

And even more alarming was the fact that he was right. Since when did Lex acquire such dangerous perception? Or perhaps he simply hid it behind a playful and careless facade that was convincing enough to fool her. For once Esther was at a loss for words, and those few precious seconds of silence had cost her the one thing that matter most: the truth. Her speechlessness was all Lex needed to confirm that he was right, and she knew that no matter what she said now, it wouldn't have mattered. Now how could she play it? He shouldn't have been able to see that she was far too interested in him for her own good, she hid it well, didn't she? He shouldn't have. No, don't panic, don't panic now, Esther told herself repeatedly. She looked up. Lex was still fixing his intense gaze on her, she realised, and clearing her throat, she tried to regain her composure, 'You're straying off topic, Lex.' Esther managed a smile, 'Do you have a problem with your hair?'

'Do I...what?' His eyes widened comically and she had to keep her giggle in check in spite of the situation.

'I mean, do you dislike your hair so much? Seeing as you have, ahem, _strawberry_ -blond locks, one would've thought you'd prefer the flavour as well.' She smiled mockingly at him, 'Really Lex, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. A lot of girls would  
 _kill_ to have hair like yours.'

'Ooh, touché, well-said, great argument!' Lex applauded with a grin like an overgrown child. 'I knew I was right to put you in that position. But tell me Estee... Would  
 _you_ kill for me?'

Esther decided to go with her instincts and answer truthfully. 'It depends on 1,' she held up a finger, 'If that person is my family or Evie. 2,' Another finger. 'If I can manage to not get caught. And 3,' The third finger, 'What you'll give me if I do so, of course.'

What was it about her reply that Lex found so amusing? Why was he laughing? Didn't he have work to do or something? 'Oh, oh dear, dear Estee, sweet Estee, Estee _Erdbeere_  
,' he finally calmed down enough to speak, 'You have no idea how strange you are.' He had a brightness in his eyes that Esther could not place. Yet strangely, the not knowing did not make her nervous.

'You call _me_ the strange one, Lex?' Esther gestured towards her bag. 'Well?  
 _Some people_ have work to do, you know.'

'Mmh hmm, of course,' he patted her head lightly, and did it again when she did not move to object, until she elbowed him. 'Well then, a deal's a deal. _Strawberryisbetterthancherry_  
.' Lex let out a long suffering breath and grinned at her face. 'There, done.'

Shaking her head with a smile, Esther reached into her bag and handed him the precious bag of cherry-flavoured Jolly Ranchers; Lex's hand shot out so fast that in a blink he had one of the sweets safely between his fingers. Esther could only stare as he popped it into his mouth, moaning as he visibly swirled the cherry candy inside his mouth with his equally pink tongue.

'Mmmmmh,' Lex licked his finger with a lazy smirk, obviously enjoying her reaction. Damn.

Face growing hotter by the second, Esther looked away hastily, inwardly cursing at her self-control, or lack thereof whenever Lex Luthor was concerned.

'Well then,' she spoke up in her best nonchalant tone, 'I'd better go to work now. I'm 15 minutes late already, thanks to you.'

'Ah yes!' Lex bounced off the table he was sitting on, clutching the bag of Jolly Ranchers as he did so. 'Look at the time, you really must hurry now, Estee, but don't worry, this is off your squeaky clean record.'

'Good to know.' She gave him a wave. 'Have a _sweet_ Monday, Lex.'

As Esther turned to leave, she felt him catching up with her, 'I'm going up too, anyway,' Lex explained flippantly, 'Might as well walk you to the elevator, hmm?'

'Whatever you say, Lex.'

The only answer she got was an arm snaking around her waist. Ow, she was sensitive there! But fine, if this was how he wanted to play it.

 _1, 2_...

'Who was your friend earlier, by the way?'

Esther looked at him incredulously. 'Evie? What do you mean? I thought you knew her. You remembered her name, Lex!'

 _3,4_...

'Nope, actually, uh, haha,' Lex shrugged, 'I just read her name tag. She seems to like me a lot, wooooow!'

 _5,6_...

Esther raised an eyebrow at his antics. 'Yeah, big surprise for you, I'm sure.' she turned back to face the doors. 'Evie Kenway, Research & Development, physicist. Ring a bell?'

 _7,8_...

'Not~ really~' He admitted without remorse and Esther sighed a bit annoyed, but he didn't seem to notice. 'And good news for you, you can have the rest of the day off.'

 _9,10_...

Esther turned to him sharply. 'Excuse me?! And you're telling me this _now_? What're you playing at, Lex?'

'Huh? I thought I said it clearly enough.' he had the audacity to give her a curious glance, 'Go home, get some sleep, have strawberries for dinner, anything, blah blah blah.'

 _11, 12_...

'All...right.' she nodded slowly. 'And is this where I'm supposed to express my undying gratitude?'

'Hmm, it is, isn't it?'

 _13, 14_...

Oh to hell with it. Smirking sideways at the ginger, Esther tiptoed and whispered at his ear. ' _Thank you_  
, Lex~'

An arm held her in place before she could move away, and she could only barely stay still when warm breath tickled her neck. 'Don't think you've won, _Estee-Erdbeere_  
, the only reason I played by your rules is because you smell just like sweet fresh strawberries.' She felt him taking a deep breath before letting go.

 _15, 16... Ding!_

The two stared at each other.

'Good day, Lex.' Esther hoped she looked calmer than she felt.

'You too, Estee.' He held the doors open. 'Just tell them I've sent you on an errand, huh?'

'I do not need _you_ to teach _me_  
how to lie, thank you!'

'Oopsie.' He was still smirking when the doors closed.

It was settled; Esther Hare _hated_ Lex Luthor.

Ten minutes of explanation to her co-workers and twenty minutes of transportation later, Esther was back in her flat on this fine Monday morning.

Hmm, a text message?

- _Estee where are you?_

 _-Esther you're not on your floor_.

Ah oh. She knew she forgot something back there.

Evie was going to murder her.

-The End-

Notes-at-the-end:

1)Esther is a psychologist specialising on micro-expressions.

2)ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, something I suspect Lex to have/suffer from.

3)Erdbeere means strawberry in German.

4)Evie and Esther were college dorm mates, and the former is sent by Bruce Wayne to investigate LexCorp, that is, until she falls for Lex (one-sided).


End file.
